Decision Released: VA Development, Testing, Deployment and Security and Operations Support requirement

File B-422934

Digest

1. Protest challenging the size status of the awardee is dismissed because the issue is not for GAO’s consideration.
2. Protest challenging the reasonableness of the agency’s price evaluation is dismissed where, in this fixed price competition, the protester asserts the agency failed to conduct a price realism evaluation when the solicitation did not advise offerors that the agency would do so, and where the protester’s allegation that the agency failed to conduct a reasonable unbalanced price evaluation is speculative and fails to state a valid basis of protest.
3. Protest challenging the reasonableness of the agency’s technical evaluation is denied where the record demonstrates that the protester cannot establish that it was prejudiced by the alleged errors.

Discussion

HPC challenges the size status of the awardee and the reasonableness of the price and technical proposal evaluations. As discussed below, we dismiss the first two allegations and deny the third.

The protester argues that, as of the date of proposal submission, Veterans EZ was no longer a small business. Protest at 1. The agency requests dismissal of this argument, asserting that GAO’s bid protest regulations are explicit that challenges to the size status of a particular firm are not for our consideration. Req. for Dismissal at 5, citing 4 C.F.R. § 21.5(b)(1) (noting that “[c]hallenges of established size standards or the size status of particular firms. . . may be reviewed solely by the [Small Business Administration]” and are not for GAO’s consideration). We agree with the VA, and we dismiss this allegation …

Decision

High Plains Computing, Inc., doing business as HPC Solutions, of Denver, Colorado, protests the issuance of a task order to Veterans EZ Info Inc., of San Diego, California, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 36C10B24Q0283, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide development, testing, deployment, and security and operations support for legacy, current, and future Office of Information and Technology community care product line products. The protester challenges the awardee’s size status and asserts that the agency unreasonably evaluated price and technical proposals.

We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part.

Read the decision here.

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